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06/S: L6000 LOOO 2
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ATTITUDES OF COMPARATIVE GROUPS OF BUSINESS STUDENTS
(INCLUDING HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM)
TOWARDS PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
BY
EVA M. A. RUYS
Minor thesis. Submitted in part ial fulfilment of the requirements
for the Master of Business, Tourism Development degree in the Faculty of Business,
Victoria University of Technology, Footscray Campus, Melbourne.
1 9 9 1 .
FTS ARCHIVE 30001000913790 Ruys, Eva M. A Attitudes of comparative groups of business students (including hospitality and tourism) towards people
ACKNOWLEDGMENT.
Completion of a Master thesis is by no means a solitary
accomplishment. The writer has had the privilege of outstanding
guidance from lecturers, colleagues, friends and family. Special
recognition and thanks must firstly go to my two supervisors, Mr.
Brian Wise, Dean of the Business Faculty, and Dr. Anne Binkley,
Senior Lecturer, Physical Education and Recreation Department,
Victoria University of Technology, Footscay Campus. Without
their continuous guidance and support, this thesis could not have
become a reality.
The writer wishes to also thank Mr. Michael Edwardson, Senior
Lecturer for the Hospitality department at the University for his
help with the statistics. The lecturers and students of first and
final year business degree courses of the University are also
thanked by the author for finding the time to fill in the
questionnaire for her thesis data.
Appreciation is extended to the University Computer Department,
especially Ms. Leone Barnett and Mara for collating and entering
data into the computer program.
Special gratitude to my wonderful parents whose continuous
support, confidence, encouragement and assistance made the
successful completion of my thesis a reality. A final thank you is
given to Miro, for his valuable contribution during the final
stages of the study.
E.M.A.R.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
List of Tables
List of Figures
Chapter: Page:
1 . INTRODUCTION
Introduction 1
1.1 Statement of the Problem 3 1.2 Purpose of the Study 4 1.3 Need for the Study 4 1.4 Delimitations of the Study 9 1.5 Limitations of the Study 9 1.6 Assumptions 10 1.7 Definition of the Terms 1 0
2 . REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction 12
2.1 Literature Related to Attitudes and Attitude Change 1 2 2.1.1 Introduction 1 2 2.1.2 Attitudes 1 3 2.1.3 Origins of Negative Attitudes 1 5 2.1.4 Attitude Change 16 2.1.5 Summary 1 7
2.2 Literature Related to Other Disability Scales 1 8 2.2.1 Introduction 1 8 2.2.2 Likert-type Attitude Tests/Scales 18 2.2.3 A.T.D.P. Scale 2 0 2.2.4 Summary 20
2.3 Literature Related to Past Research Results on Attitudes Towards Disabled People 2 1 2.3.1 Introduction 2 1 2.3.2 Student Attitudes Towards Disabled People 2 2 2.3.3 Health Science Students' Image of Disabled
People 2 3 2.3.4 College Nursing Students' Attitudes 2 4 2.3.5 Children's Attitudes Towards Disabled Persons 2 5 2.3.6 Disabled versus Non-disabled Counsellors 2 6 2.3.7 Attitudes as Expressed by Rehabilitation
Professionals 2 7 2.3.8 Summary 27
3. METHODS AND PROCEDURES
3 . 1 Introduction 2 8 3 .2 Identification of the Population 2 8 3 .3 Determination and Implications of Attitudes 2 9
3 .3 .1 Selection and Development of the Instrument 2 9 3 .3 .1 .1 Introduction 3 0 3 .3 .1 .2 Development of the ATDP Scales 3 0 3 .3 .1 .3 Interpretation of the Data 3 1 3 .3 .1 .4 Reliability 3 1 3 .3 .1 .5 Validity 3 2 3 .3 .1 .6 Acquiescence 3 3 3 .3 .1 .7 Faking/Social Desirability 3 4 3 .3 .1 .8 The Selected Instrument 3 6
3 .3 .2 Printing the Instrument and Accompanying Letter 3 7 3 .3 .3 Distribution of the Instrument and Collection of
the Data 3 7 3 . 4 Organisation and Analysis of the Data 3 8 3 .5 Summary 3 8
4 . FINDINGS
4 . 1 The Sample 3 9 4 . 1 . 1 Introduction 3 9 4 . 1 . 2 Total Population 3 9 4 . 1 . 3 Sample Taken 4 0 4 . 1 . 4 Limitations to the Sample 4 2
4 . 2 Interpretation of the Data 4 2 4 . 3 The Relationship of Course and Year to Mean Attitude Scores 4 4 4 . 4 The Relationship of Course and Industrial Experience on
Mean Attitude Scores 4 5 4 . 5 The Relationship of Course and Age on Mean Attitude Score 4 7 4 . 6 The Relationship of Course and Gender on Mean Attitude Score 4 8 4 . 7 The Relationship of Course and Exposure to People with Disabities
on Mean Attitude Scores 4 9 4 . 8 The Relationship of Course, Gender and Exposure to People
with Disabilities on Mean Attitude Scores 5 1 4 . 9 Mean Attitude Score Differences of Footscray Campus Business
Students and Other University Students 5 2 4 . 1 0 Summary of Findings 5 4
5 . SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5 .1 Summary 5 8 5 .2 Conclusions 5 9 5 .3 Recommendations 6 0
6 . REFERENCES 6 1
7 . APPENDICES
Appendix 1: ATDP Scale, Form O 6 5 Appendix 2: Permission for use of ATDP Scale 6 6 Appendix 3: Cover Letter for Questionnaire 6 8 Appendix 4: Quest ionnaire 6 9
11
LIST OF TABLES
Table: Page:
1. Demographics of Disabled Persons in Australia 2
2. Bachelor of Business Courses at Footscray, 1990 3 9
3. Respondent Numbers: Completed Valid Surveys 40
4. Response Size as a Percentage of the Total Population 41
5. Number of Responses from Groups 4 2
6. Mean Score of V.U.T. Business Students 4 4
7. Mean Score Based on Industrial Experience 45
8. Mean Score Based on Age 47
9. Mean Score Based on Gender 4 8
10. Mean Score Based on Exposure to People with Disabilities 5 0
11 . Mean Scores of Past Research, ATDP, Form O 5 3
12. Mean Overall Attitude Scores for Previous Studies 5 3
LIST OF FIGURES.
Figure: Page:
1 . Course and Year on Mean Attitude Scores 4 4
2 . Course and Industrial Experience on Mean Attitude Scores 4 6
3 . Course and Age on Mean Attitude Scores 4 7
4 . Course and Gender on Mean Attitude Scores 4 9
5 . Course and Exposure to Disabled People on Mean Attitude Scores 5 0
6 . Course, Gender and Exposure to Disabled People on Mean Attitude Scores 5 2
CHAPTER 1.
INTRODUCTION.
Introduction.
The first chapter of this research project introduces the barriers
people with disabilities face today and outlines the recent
developments to commence the breaking of those barriers. This
will lead to the statement of the problem, purpose and need for
the study, followed by the delimitations and limitations of the
study. The final part of this chapter will state any assumptions
made by the author and definition of terms regularly used
throughout the reseach project will be made.
The United Nations declared 1981 as the International Year of
Disabled Persons (I.Y.D.P.). In Australia, this was reflected with
the national media campaign "Break Down the Barriers." The
campaign substantially increased the awareness of people with
disabilities and their needs.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics found in 1988 that nearly
sixteen percent of the total Australian population is disabled in
some form. Eighty-four percent of those people (or 14 percent of
the total population) are handicapped by their disability. Four
percent (or 657,500 people) of the population are severely
handicapped. An estimated forty percent of the handicapped
people require artificial physical help.
1
Table 1. Demographics of Disabled Persons in Australia (1988)
All Persons No. Disabled Percentage. Total 16,338,600 2,543,000 15.6%
Male 8,119,400 1,295,500 16.0% Female 8,219,200 1,247,500 15.2% Source: Aust. Bureau of Statistics (1989) Disabled and Aged Persons Australia 1988.
These statistics show that a substantial number of people in our
population do need special facilities and requirements.
People working in the "Service industry" (ranging from healthcare
workers to shop assistants and hospitality and tourism staff) need
to be made aware that potential customers (guests or patients)
may be subject to different types of disabilities. It is therefore
important that these staff members know how to offer people
with disabilities the same services as any able customer.
The I.Y.D.P. year was in addition, a major factor in generating and
facilitating accessible physical structures, procedures and general
information for people with disabilities.
Physical barriers since, have increasingly disappeared, however,
the most important barriers - "Attitudes" - are still surviving.
Tangible items, such as new building regulations, employment
opportunities, and facilities access are easier to change to suit
people with disabilities than intangible needs such as attitudes
towards disabled people. Both positive and negative attitude
change can occur through awareness, education and life
experience/personal involvement.(l)
This study was undertaken to determine the attitudes of
hospitality and tourism students of the Victoria University of
Technology, Footscray Campus, before graduation and to
determine whether these attitudes are any different from other
business students of the University. As future managers and
industry leaders in tourism and hospitality, their attitudes are
important.
If the results show that the attitudes of hospitality and tourism
students are ranked comparatively low compared to other
business students, a consideration will be given to the further
inclusion of disability awareness material in courses taught at
tertiary level.
This study will also examine the possible difference between first
year business students and final year business students. Although
this is not a longitudinal study, if it is found that attitude scores
are better at fourth year level, a number of inferences may be
made; better attitude scores could be due to age difference or
more experience in the industry.
1.1 Statement of the Problem
The objective of the study is to investigate the attitudes of the
Victoria University of Technology, Footscray Campus hospitality
and tourism students towards people with disabilities.
1.2 Purpose of the Study.
The purpose of the study is to provide information on the
attitudes of first year and final year students of hospitality and
tourism degree courses towards people with disabilities. This
information is then utilised to determine whether students'
attitudes were positive or negative, whether they reflected a
difference between the two years, whether this difference is of a
positive or negative nature and whether they differ substantially
from those attitudes held by the other business students.
From the findings, recommendations and likely reasons are
suggested for the possible differences between the degree courses
or the students, so that a basis for further research on this topic
can be developed.
1.3 Need for the Study.
Much has been written about the problems of people with
disabilities, especially since 1981, the International Year of the
Disabled Person (lYDP). Most of the literature to date, however,
focuses predominantly on the physical requirements of the
disabled person.
People with disabilities often find that physical facilities are
(near) adequate,(2) especially in the newer buildings and
attractions, due to the I.Y.D.P. However, these newer buildings are
often out of the budget of travellers with disabilities. (3)
On the other hand, the intangible needs of people with disabilities
are not being met. This is where the positive attitudes of the staff
are of importance. Today's students are the potential employees of
tomorrow and will be the decision makers of the future. They will
have the power to allocate monetary resources, and also hold the
power to train staff.
Mary Baker, Chairperson of the report Tourism For All, set up by
the English Tourist Board, states that people with disabilities are
often made to feel unwelcome even though the report found an
enormous amount of goodwill amongst hospitality and tourism
operators. The largest problem the report found, was a large
communication's gap between the providers of the service and
customers. Hotels would claim to be suitable for people with
disabilities but would often prove not to be. On the other side,
people with disabilities would not be clear in stating their needs,
perhaps due to fear of refusal if they were completely candid.
This would then lead to an unsatisfying holiday by the traveller
with disabilities because of the unsuitable facilities offered.
In the conclusion of the report, the research found that even if a
tourist facility lacked some of the facilities required by a traveller
with disabilities, a holiday would still be a great success if some
goodwill and a welcoming smile was shown by the staff. Mary
Baker believes that this may well be most difficult to achieve.
As will be seen in the theory of attitudes, in Section 2.1,
stereotyping is of major relevance to the attitudes of people
towards minority groups. People with disabilities are assumed to
be greatly different from the able-bodied persons. In addition,
consistent stereotypes are held by culturally diverse groups,
suggesting influence from literature and the mass media. (4)
The study by Warren suggested that the I.Y.D.P. and the
associated media campaign had provided accurate information
about the needs of people with disabilities and improved society's
knowledge about disabilities, however, people were less convinced
that the media campaign promoted attitude change and changes in
reaction likely to encourage future interactions with travellers
with disabilities. Warren's survey also found that face-to-face
contacts were more useful in achieving attitude and behavioural
change than a media campaign alone.
Beatrice Wright (5) noted that where problems involving
disability are presented within the coping framework, as part of
the normal lives of the individuals, positive attitudes can be
expected.
As was stated in the introduction of this study, the size of the
disabled market is a notable one, close to 16%. It is important that
the staff in this section of the service industry are trained to build
positive attitudes. The training can be administered at an early
stage, (for example at colleges and universities) so that the
negative attitude barriers can be reduced or eliminated by the
time students enter the workforce.
Engel, along with other psychologists, belief that attitudes of
people can be changed.(6) If the attitudes of students towards
people with disabilities are found to be negative, it will affect the
(potential) performance of hospitality/tourism staff.
Numerous attitude studies have already been carried out, notably
by Professor Harold Yuker and his team at the Hofstra University
in the U.S.A. No specific research however, has as yet been carried
out into the (future) employees of the hospitality and tourism
industry.
Bruce Lazarus and Jane Kaufman in an article published in The
Cornell H.R.A. Ouarterlv. (7) found that despite a growing number
of disabled travellers, few hospitality programs deal directly with
educational issues regarding disabled guests. Wordwide, few
hospitality employees have been trained to address the wide
range of needs presented by this growing guest segment. To
market effectively to disabled travellers, hospitality operators
must increase their awareness of the needs of individuals. It is,
for example, often assumed that elevators provide adequate
access for guests with disabilities, but if the control panel is placed
too high to be reached by wheelchair bound individuals or there is
no Braille lettering on the panel, the elevator remains a barrier for
wheelchair-users or visually impaired guests. The article
concluded by stating that if the hospitality industry is to respond
adequately to the special needs of this guest segment, entrants
into the industry must be aware of these needs and the types of
facility modifications and special services these guests require.
Lazarus and Kaufman's survey indicated that hotel and motel
managers recognise the need for this special training. It is the
responsibility of hospitality educators to respond.
Educating potential employees about the needs of people with
disabilities is very difficult. Their feelings about people with
disabilities have been conditioned since childhood, and a simple
classroom teaching approach will not be effective in dismissing
innermost prejudices. (8)
Upon examining the two re-accreditation manuals (1988) of the
Bachelor of Business, Catering and Hotel Management and the
Bachelor of Business, Tourism Management, (9 + 10) it is found
that neither course offer any subjects directly related to disability
awareness or even as a component of a subject.
However, a fourth year elective subject "Hospitality Facilities
Planning and Design" for Catering and Hotel Management students
does cover disability awareness, although this is not compulsory,
nor accredited as part of the course.
8
1.4 Delimitations of the Study.
This study was delimited in the following ways:
• The use of a set questionnaire.
• An investigation of first year and final year students of
the Bachelor of Business, (Hotel and Catering), and the
Bachelor of Business, (Tourism) courses, offered at
Victoria University of Technology, Footscray Campus.
• The use of all other first year and final year Bachelor of
Business students at Victoria University of Technology,
Footscray Campus, as the comparative group.
1.5 Limitations of the Study.
The following were limitations of the study:
• Inferences/recommendations can only be made with
reference to the Victoria University of Technology,
Footscray campus courses.
• Subjects' responses are valid at the time of questioning,
however, attitudes can change.
• Inferences between the first year students and fourth
year students are limited. Only a longitudinal study would
reveal the true change over time.
1.6 Assumptions.
The study proceeded upon the following assumptions:
• The respondentsanswered the questionnaire to the best of
their understanding and ability.
• The survey instrument used was both valid and reliable
for the purpose of this study.
1.7 Definition of the Terms.
Terms pertinent to the study were defined as follows:
Attitude: "Evaluative statements or judgments concerning objects,
people or events" (11)
I m p a i r m e n t : The World Health Organisation defines an
impairment as any loss or abnormality of psychological,
physiological, or anatomical structure or function. (Note:
"Impairment" is more inclusive than "disorder" in that it covers
losses, - eg. the loss of a leg is an impairment, but not a disorder.)
(12)
Disability: The W.H.O. defines a disability as any restriction or lack
(resulting from an impairment) of ability to perform an activity in
the manner or within the range considered normal for a human
being. (13)
10
Handicap: The W.H.O. defines a handicap as a disadvantage for a
given individual, resulting from an impairment or a disability,
that limits or prevents the fulfilment of a role that is normal
(depending on age, sex, and social and cultural factors) for that
individual. (14)
Normal/Able people: In a general sense, normal is "what is usual,
expected, understood in its frame of reference, and generally
regarded as desirable." (15)
S t u d e n t : In this context, a student is defined as someone
undertaking a full-time tertiary education course. A first year
students is a person enroled for first year subjects. A final or
fourth year student is a person enroled for their potentially final
year in their course.
1 1
CHAPTER 2.
REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE.
Introduction.
This chapter of the study will commence with an examination of
the literature available on the theory of attitudes and attitude
change. This will be followed by research into other attitude
disability scales that are available and their limitations. The final
section of the chapter will look at past research results on
attitudes towards people with disabilities.
2.1 Literature Related to Attitudes and Attitude Change.
2.1,1 Introduction.
Edward Brodsky-Porges in an article in the Cornell H.R.A.
Quarter ly. (16) states that it is useless to remove architectural
barriers without first eliminating psychological barriers through
employee training. Employees' attitudes about people with
disabilities motivate and direct their behaviour. If their socially
conditioned negative attitudes towards people with disabilities are
not overcome, they will act in ways that say to the guest: "You are
not welcomed -merely tolerated."
12
The following section will look at the theories available at the
present time on attitudes, how negative attitudes are formed and
how they can be changed.
2.1.2 Attitudes.
As stated in Chapter One of this research, attitudes are evaluative
statements or judgments concerning objects, people or events.(17)
Attitudes are considered to have three components: cognitions
(beliefs), emotions (feelings), and behaviours (actions). (18)
As humans, we strive to be consistent in those three areas. Any
inconsistency will act as an irritant or a stimulus that motivates us
to modify or change one or more of these components until they
form a coherent, and balanced package. (19)
Attitudes are developed through conditioning in the past.
Some attitudes not only affect individuals and the people close to
those, but can affect society. A principal example is prejudice,
which also consists of a combination of feelings, beliefs and
behavioural tendencies. Some attitudes, such as a negative
reaction to smoking, are based on accurate information, however,
prejudice is not. The foundation of prejudice is stereotyping, a set
of beliefs that are based on inaccurate or incomplete information
that is uncritically applied to a whole group of people. (20)
13
Prejudices usually develop on the basis of what other people have
said and the attitudes they have expressed, rather than direct
personal contact with the minority groups. These reinforcements
may come from parents, friends, churches, schools or the media.
A major reason for forming a set of attitudes is often simply to
conform to a group of people and their attitudes. In other words,
to fit in with a group, a person may become prejudiced. (21)
Competition for power, jobs or other resources are often the
motivation for a dominant group of people to discriminate against
a minority group such as people with disabilities. One of the most
tragic consequences of prejudice is that the targets of the
discrimination may eventually come to accept these stereotypes,
which will lower their self esteem and lead to feelings of
hopelessness and even self-rejection. (22)
One group of attitudes particularly interesting for the purpose of
this study is altruism. This is the voluntary act of helping other
people without any expectation of a reward, except maybe the
good feeling of having done something useful. (23) This type of
attitude is of particular importance to this study as hospitality and
tourism staff are in the service industry, and therefore employed
to serve and help people, not always for financial reward, but for
personal satisfaction.
14
2.1.3 Origins of Negative Attitudes.
Doctor Hanoch Livneh (24) believes that the causes of negative
attitudes toward disabled persons derive from the conditioning
that occurs in society through the spread of social and cultural
norms, standards and expectations. This conditioning occurs at a
very early stage of life. Another cause of negative attitudes
suggested by Livneh is that individuals with a disability are seen
as dangerous, threatening or that a non-disabled person feels
"guilty". The sight of a disabled person has often triggered the
idea of antagonism. Negative attitudes can also be caused by the
view that the disabled population is parallel to any minority
group, causing discomfort. Finally, Linveh suggests that sources of
negative attitudes can depend on the severity of the disability,
that is, the degree to which the disability can be seen.
Gething (25) believes that a major source of negative attitudes is
"cognitive anxiety" (that is, where a person feels unsure of how to
behave, for example, whether to help or ignore the disability) in
interactions with people with disabilities. This anxiety consists of:
guilt, fear, uncertainty, pity and discomfort.
15
2.1.4 Attitude Change.
According to behavioural theorists, changing the pattern of
reinforcement will change people's attitudes. A communicator,
such as the media, must be seen to be an expert and produce a
believable argument for a person to change his/her opinion.
Sometimes a frightening message can be a good way to persuade
people to alter their behaviour and attitude as long as they are
given suggestions about how to make the changes. Other methods
also used are one-sided and two-sided arguments. It depends on
the position of the person's attitude as to which type should be
used. One-sided arguments are most effective for audiences who
agree with the message or who are ignorant of the other side of
the issue. Two-sided messages are more effective with individuals
who disagree with the communicator's position or who are aware
that there is another point of view.
After studying primary school students, Jackson and Knowles (26)
found that they possessed ambiguous perceptions of disabled
people's learning ability, inaccurate and negative stereotypes of
personal attributes of disabled people, an attitude that disabled
people are, and should be, dependent upon others, and, gross
misinterpretations of the cause of the disability.
16
These findings highlight the need for increased knowledge about
disabilities. Changing people's perceptions of disability will lead to
more positive attitudes toward disabled people and hopefully
more positive interactions between disabled and non-disabled
people.
2.1.5 Summarv.
This section has briefly looked at the theoretical concepts of
attitudes, negative attitudes and attitude change. Attitudes are
conditioned, often from an early stage in life. Prejudice is an
important factor to be considered in this study. Attitudes can be
changed by a respected communicator using one or two-sided
arguments and it has been suggested by a number of studies (27)
that to change the attitudes of people, they must have direct
contact with people with disabilities, indirect (media) contact with
people with disabilities, access to information about disabilities,
direct instruction about disabilities, disability roleplays and
simulations, and group discussions.
These suggestions have proven to be both true and contradictory.
Possible reasons for this are (28) inadequate experimental designs
and controls, lack of theoretical models for the studies, lack of
replications studies, and use of only one attitude change technique
at a time.
17
2.2 Literature Related to Other Disability Scales.
2.2.1 Introduction.
Research on attitudes towards people with disabilitieshas been
carried out by psychologists for the last 25 years, using a number
of different measures. This study will use the original Torm O' of
the Attitude Towards Disabled Persons Scale, (ATDP) developed
by Professor H.E. Yuker, Hofstra University, U.S.A. (See Appendix
1).
Besides the most publicised and generally accepted scale, the
ATDP scale, other scales available will be reviewed briefly. Most
of the studies available have used measurement techniques which
have produced limited research results and have subsequently
been ignored in recent literature.
The most prevailing method used to measure attitudes towards
disabilities has been the Likert-type scale. In the following
section, a number of these scales will be briefly analysed.
2.2.2 Likert-Tvpe Attitude Tests/Scales.
Kent, Cartwright and Ossorio (29) developed items using a Likert-
type format which focussed on a non-disabled person's emotional
reaction to meeting or seeing a person in a wheelchair. Although
Kent et al. found response clusters through factor analysis, the
clusters failed to correlate with the ATDP scale. Kent et al. report
no other attempts to validate their new scale.
18
Auvenshire's (30) attitude scale resulted in a test-retest reliability
of .85 and was partially construct validated with demographic
variables, however it was not validated against behavioural
variables.
Whiteman and Lukoffs (31) study, which also uses a Likert type
measure, reports construct validity based on one demographic
characteristic (whether the subject was or was not a social work
student), but Whiteman and Lukoff report neither reliability nor
behavioural or concurrent validation data.
Barren, De Wolfe and Cummings' scale (32) attempts to analyse
attitudes towards hospitalised patients and produces response
clusters and discrimination among types of hospital workers.
Again, further validation and reliability are either lacking or not
reported.
The Disability Factors Scales developed by Siller, Ferguson, Vann
and Holland, (33) are, despite their psychometric soundness,
underutilised in other research, most likely as a result of their
lengthiness and their focus on people with specific, named
disabilities, rather than on disabled people in general.
The Issues in Disability Scale (34) is a new instrument developed
to measure both the cognitive and affective components of
attitudes toward persons with physical disabilities. The IDS builds
upon previous research. It uses 100 items which are graded on a
Likert 7 point scale. It addresses attitudes toward people with
various disabilities and toward disabled people in general. The
19
scale shows construct validity with a high significant difference in
IDS scores between random students and "good attitude" students.
The major drawback of the scale is the length. The test takes
around one hour to complete. Also, the seven point scale allows
for a neutral "I don't know" answer, which may often lead to an
"easy way out" for respondents.
2.2.3 A.T.D.P. Scale.
The A.T.D.P. scale was first developed in 1960, and by 1966, there
were three forms of the scale. Each can be used interchangeably,
so the pre-post measurements can be taken. The original scale.
Form O, contains 20 items, the remaining two. Form A and B, each
contain 30 items. Often the original scale is preferred, only
because it requires less time for completion.
The A.T.D.P. scale was selected for this study because it has been
accepted in the world of disabled attitude measured in terms of
completion time, validity, reliability, ease of use and suitability for
the population chosen.
2.2.4 Summary.
As can be noted above, a number of alternatives to the ATDP Scale
exists, and like the ATDP scale, all have their drawbacks. The list
is not exhaustive, but will give a basic impression on the Likert
type scales currently available.
20
2.3 Literature Related to Past Research Results on Attitudes
Towards Disabled.
2.3.1 Introduction.
From the previous section, it is found that there are many
different tests available to measure attitudes towards disabilities.
The ATDP scale has been used most extensively during the last 25
years. The Hofstra University, where the ATDP originated from,
has results of 145 studies of the three ATDP versions. The
respondents range from families, counsel lors , s tudents
(highschool, college, graduates), and nurses, to business people.
The number of respondents in each study ranged from 7 to 3000.
At present, although studies have been carried out using students
as respondents, the author of this study has been unable to locate
a study specifically related to hospitality or tourism related
students/staff .
The following section examines a number of studies that have
been carried out using different tests, but predominantly the
ATDP attitude test.
21
2.3.2 Student Attitudes Towards Disabled Persons.
A study by Cooney and Mullen (35) took 309 students from
highschools, colleges and universities, and surveyed them with
respect to attitudes. The results demonstrated a positive attitude
towards people with disabilities. The attitudes expressed by the
survey were positive specifically with respect to mainstreaming,
that is, total community interaction of people with disabilities,
friendship with disabled persons, and seeing a disabled person in
professional career roles.
The conclusion of this study states that if the student population
in a community may be a predictor of the future of that
community, it can be concluded that the future for people with
disabilities in that community is quite positive.
This study however, used an adapted version of the ATDP scale.
There were 5 categories for the respondent to choose from, that is,
a neutral answer was possible.
Another study was conducted by Perry, Apostal and Scott, (36)
with the aim to test the value or effectiveness of procedures to
modify attitudes towards persons with disabilities. The usual
method would be to have the students take a test before the
course (pretest) and the same test again after the course
(posttest). Using this traditional approach, the conclusion drawn
from this report was that the course had no significant impact on
the students' attitudes. Perry suggested the use of the
Retrospective pretest and posttest design.
22
Here the students were asked to complete the ATDP test. Form A,
at the end of the course, supplying two answers per statement,
one for their attitude before the course, and for their attitudes
now, after completion of the course. This study indicated that the
students attitudes were significantly more positive at the
conclusion of the course than at the beginning of the course.
Two other similar studies have found the same results.
2.3.3 Health Science Students' Image of Disabled People.
Westbrook (37) has surveyed a wide selection of health science
students on their understanding of people with disabilities. Most
answers were over/understated significantly.
• Size of disabled population was overestimated, • Major disabling conditions misidentified, • Number of institutionalised disabled exaggerated, • Disabled people's employment status and qualifications were
underestimated;
• Community assistance received was overestimated.
Some educational programs for health science students have
addressed the issue of students' attitudes toward disability. The
effectiveness of such programs has been assessed by
administering the ATDP scale before and after the completion of
the course.
23
The conclusion of the study states that students in the health
profession have unduly narrow and pessimistic beliefs concerning
the lives and problems of people with disabilities. Furthermore,
their perception of the disabled population suggests that they are
more aware of the disabilities of people with more visible,
stigmatised and "tragic" disorders and underestimate the
disabilities of people with less visible disabilities, particular those
of older people.
2.3.4 College Nursing Students' Attitudes.
A study conducted in 1989, by Janet Roden (38) has identified a
number of factors which will dispell negative attitudes and
develop positive attitudes towards people with disabilities in
nursing students. The movement of nursing students to colleges of
advanced education has given the new departments the
responsibility of developing in student nurses positive attitudes
toward people with disabilities. The study concluded that, if the
sample is a representative sample of the population, there is much
to be done to improve the community attitudes towards people
with developmental disabilities. The research also found that
colleges of advanced education must develop and actually deliver
courses which equip nursing students to face the challenges of
working in, and contributing to, the new roles for staff engaged in
providing services for people with developmental disabilities.
24
From this research, it is important for nursing students to have
positive attitudes because they will offer a service to people with
disabilities. This is also the case for tourism and hospitality
students.
2.3.5. Children's Attitudes Towards Disabled Persons.
Ann Hazzards (39) conducted a study into the attitudes of 367
elementary school children. The children's knowledge increased
with age but was unrelated to gender or previous experience with
people with disabilities. However, children with more experience
and girls expressed greater willingness to interact with disabled
peers. A reason for the girls having a better acceptance of people
with disabilities is explained in the article by the fact that people
with disabilities are stereotyped to be weak and helpless like
girls, whereas boys are supposed to be strong and active. In
addition, according to traditional gender-role expectations,
nurturance is highly valued as a feminine quality, thus girls may
more easily adopt a nurturing role toward disabled peers. Such an
empathetic stance could be the first step towards more accepting
attitudes, although such caring also has the potential to become
patronizing.
25
2.3.6 Disabled versus Non-disabled Counsellors.
Dale Fish and S. Smith (40) conducted a study examining the
relationship of the variable of disability to counsellor
effectiveness and attitudes toward persons with disabilities.
Twenty postgraduate students in rehabilitative counselling were
administered the Carkhuff Communications Index, (C.C.I.). This
consists of 16 stimulus statements to which the participant has to
respond using a 5 point scale. The rating facilitates conditions of
empathy, respect, genuineness, concreteness, immediacy, self-
disclosure and confrontation. The students were also administered
the A.T.D.P. Scale, Form B.
Ten of the respondents had physical disabilities including
paraplegia, multiple sclerosis and impaired vision. The findings
showed that nondisabled counsellor trainees were rated
significantly higher on the CCI but scored significantly lower on
the ATDP scale than disabled counsellor trainees.
Yuker et al. (1970)(41) also found that, not surprisingly, people
with disabilities have more favourable attitudes towards persons
with disabilities than do nondisabled persons.
26
2.3.7 Attitudes as Expressed bv Rehabilitation Professionals.
Elston and Snow (42) attempted to determine differences in
attitudes toward people with disabilities among rehabilitation
counsellors, personnel at rehabilitation evaluation centres and
sheltered workshop personnel in Oklahoma. The results indicated
no significant difference between the three groups and that the
demographic variables of education, amount of work experience
with disabled persons and the presence of disability were not
significantly related to attitudes.
2.3.8 Summary.
From the numerous studies carried out over the years, those with
relevance to the author's study, were briefly discussed above. The
results and methods used varied between the studies. The
author's own research will take the above results and conclusions
into consideration.
27
CHAPTER 3.
METHODS AND PROrFDTIRFS
3.1 Introduction.
This study is concerned with determining the attitudes of tertiary
students of the hospitality and tourism courses, towards people
with disabilities.
The subproblems of this investigation are:
1. To develop comprehensive lists of first year business students and final year business students of the Victoria University of Technology, Footscray Campus. These two groups are divided into a Hospitality and Tourism group and a group containing all the remaining business students studying the other five business courses.
2. To determine the attitudes of the above four mentioned groups, which are measured through a questionnaire.
3. To organise and analyse the data for the purpose of providing information regarding the attitudes, and
4. To make recommendations regarding the programs and professional preparation of hospitality/tourism students.
3.2 Identification of the Population.
The composition of the population of the study was limited to:
• First and fourth year Victoria University of Technology, Footscray campus. Bachelor of Business Hotel and Catering students;
• First and fourth year Victoria University of Technology, Footscray campus. Bachelor of Business Tourism students;
28
• First and fourth year Victoria University of Technology, Footscray campus. Bachelor of Business Retail Management students;
• First and fourth year Victoria University of Technology, Footscray campus. Bachelor of Business Accounting students;
• First and fourth year Victoria University of Technology, Footscray campus. Bachelor of Business Information Technology students;
• First and fourth year Victoria University of Technology, Footscray campus. Bachelor of Business Banking and Finance students; and,
• First year Victoria University of Technology, Footscray campus. Bachelor of Business International Trade students.
To compile a list of the population, a student enrolment listing of
first year and final year students of all courses was obtained from
the Footscray Campus Business Faculty Office.
3.3 Determination of Attitudes.
The determination of attitudes of students towards people with
disabilities involved: selection and development of the instrument;
printing of the instrument and accompanying letter; and
distribution of the instrument and collected data.
3.3.1 Selection and development of the instrument.
An extensive review of the literature has shown that the
measurement of attitudes is a complex procedure usually
accomplished using attitude scales. It was decided by the author
that the development of a new attitude scale was inapprpriate for
29
this study. Through the research available, is was found that a
number of attitude measures already exist, some of which had
proven to be reliable and valid.
It was therefore decided to use the most popular measurement
(and therefore also the most researched), the Attitudes Towards
Disabled Persons (ATDP) scale, developed by Harold Yuker et al.
in 1965.
Permission to use the scale was obtained from Professor Yuker.
(See Appendix 2)
3.3.1.1 Introduction.
A number of attitude scales have been developed over the last 25
years, however, the Attitude Towards Disabled Persons Scale is a
commonly used scale today.
As mentioned earlier, the ATDP Scale was used for this study of
attitudes of students towards people with disabilities, because of
its general acceptance in the world of disabled attitude measures
in terms of reliability, validity, desirability, acquiescence and
faking.
3.3.1.2 Development of the ATDP Scales.
Items for each of the three ATDP scales were selected from a
review of the literature. These items were then screened by a
number of psychologists to determine their relevance. Some of the
wording was changed to create an even number of positive and
negative statements. All items are designed to cover disabilities in
30
general, not any specific disability. The items were then tested on
undergraduate university students. The results of item analysis,
indicated that the statements successfully identified persons well
above, and well below the median. (42)
3.3.1.3 Interpretation of the Data.
The results of the test can justifiably determine whether a
nondisabled respondent, or a group of nondisabled respondents
are accepting/rejecting disabled people. There is a relatively high
correlation with measures of acceptance/prejudice.
Like most attitude scales, however, individual items of the test
should not be interpreted.
For a test such as this, attitudes of the individual are relative to a
normative group. Interpretation must therefore be a comparison
between a normative group.
3.3.1.4 Reliability.
Reliability is of major importance for any test, especially
attitudinal tests, because it is very difficult to arrive at a single
index for attitude measures.
31
Four procedures have been used in evaluating the reliability of
the ATDP: (43)
1. Giving the ATDP twice (test-retest reliability); 2. Dividing the test into two parts (split half reliability); 3. Correlating the results obtained from two parallel forms
of the test; 4. Analysing the co-variance among individual items - eg.
computing coefficient alpha (Stanley, 1971)
All four procedures have been used to determine the ATDP
reliability of all three forms of the test. The Test-Retest has been
tested through two different time periods. For the first test, the
re-test was taken after a few weeks, for the second test, the re-
test was taken after a few months.
Yuker and Block found that the data indicated an average
reliability coefficient of .80, which is average for widely used
measures of attitudes. (44). They then concluded that each form is
reliable and the three forms are roughly equivalent to one
other.(45)
3.3.1.5 Validity.
Validity can be described a number of ways; content validity,
predictive validity, concurrent validity and construct validity.
(American Psychological Association, 1974)
Yuker and Block believe that construct validity is most important.
This assumes a theory that postulates a set of relationships
between a measure and other variables. The construct validity of
32
the ATDP was assessed by examining the relationship of ATDP
scores to scores on many other variables. Since most predictions
were confirmed, and none yielded results diametrically opposed
to the predictions, the ATDP may be considered a valid measure of
Attitudes Towards Disabled Persons. (46)
Research has also been carried out to the validity of the ATDP test
versus other general measures of attitudes towards disabled
persons tests. The higher correlations meant that the tests were
very similar, with simply word changes as the only differences.
(For example the ATHI Scale, (47).) The lower correlations implied
totally different tests, different setout and questions, and
therefore not related to the ATDP scale.
3.3.1.6 Acquiescence.
This refers to the tendency of respondents to give positive
answers to the test statements regardless of attitude. To
counteract this tendency, the items were planned to be balancing
on both positive and negative characteristics. This is not the case
in the ATDP scale, there is an uneven ratio of positive and
negative statements, the negative outweighing the positive.
A number of studies have since shown that acquiescence is not a
major influence on the ATDP scales.
33
3.3.1.7 Faking/Social Desirability.
Problems can arise when respondents wish to create a favourable
impression. It is therefore important to determine whether an
Attitude Test is transparent to items in the test, to the extent that
-favourable' answers could be given by respondents.
Several studies have been conducted with attempts to fake scores.
The simplest method to measure "fakeability" is for a group of
respondents to take the test under normal conditions and then to
ask the respondents to fake their answers to make a favourable
impression, without making it too obvious that the respondent
was not answering honestly.
The scores for such a test, showed a marginal increase in overall
score, but not great enough to conclude that the ATDP scale was
fakeable.
Hafer, (48) has conducted a study on the fakeability of the ATDP-
B scale and has concluded that the ATDP-B scale can be supported
as a research tool, as a unitary measure of attitudes towards
disabled persons.
Vargo (49) carried out a study on the fakeability of the ATDP
scale, form A. He found that the respondents were able to fake the
scores "well". The respondents were 2nd year physical therapy
students, therefore rehabilitation oriented, which may have led to
better scores. This result is important when the results of such a
test are to be used as a selection criteria for admission to physical
therapy programs.(Speakman and Kung; 1982).
34
Hagler, Vargo & Semple (50) studied the possibility of faking the
ATDP scale, form A. Again they found that the "faked" scores were
significantly higher than the "honest" score. Explanations have
been suggested for the discrepancies in the studies, one
explanation being the administering of the test. Vargo
administered the test with verbal instructions, while Speakman
and Kung used written instructions, which could have been
ignored by the respondents.
Speakman and Hoffmann (51) concluded in their study, that form
B of the ATDP scale was not fakeable. They found that there was
not a positive correlation between the two sets of scores, the
"honest" and "fake" versions. Of the 25 subjects in the study, 15
were successful in raising their scores, however, the difference for
the group total, was insignificant. Also, the respondents distorted
their figures to such a degree in the second test, that the
relationship between the true and false scores was relatively low.
Yuker, (52) indicated that there was some evidence that the ATDP
scale is fakeable and other evidence which denies that. He
acknowledges that the issue of faking is important if the scale is to
be used for a screening device. Because of the research available,
it is suggested that the ATDP scale not be used as a screening
device, unless it is used in conjunction with other attitude
measures.
35
3.3.1.8 The Selected Instrument.
A decision on which of the three ATDP tests to use was based on
the length of time needed to fill in the test. Form O was chosen as
it only requires 20 answers, compared to Forms A and B which
each need 30 answers. Another reason for choosing Form O was
that this form seemed to have very few criticisms of it in the
literature.
Reviewing and pretesting was not necessary due to the credibility
of the test over the years as it has been administered to all types
and ages of people.
The test can be taken as individuals or as will be the case here, in
a group. The instructions are written on the top of the form.
Answers are on an agree/disagree basis, no neutral answers are
possible. The test should take between 5 - 10 minutes to
complete.
The scoring of the test can be carried out manually or by
computer. The steps involved are summarised as follows:
1. Change the signs of the following items: 2, 5, 6, 11, 12.
2. Sum the scores, subtracting those with negative signs. 3. Change the sign of the sum. 4. Add 60 to the sum obtained.
For this study, six background information questions were
developed to ascertain demographic variables. These were related
to the age, gender, course, year of study, length of industrial
experience and degree of exposure to people with disabilities of
the respondent.
36
3.3.2 Printing the instrument and accompanying letter.
The format of the test did not vary from the original test except
that an example question was given in the introductory
paragraph. The questionnaire commenced with the simple
demographic questions and this was then followed by the test.
The introductory paragraph of the test stated the instructions for
the respondent, a simple example on the correct method of
answering the test, followed by the actual 20 statement test.
The accompanying letter stated the author's name, purpose of the
study, and appreciation for completing the test.
Both forms were photocopied onto A4 sized white paper.
3.3.3 Distribution of the Instrument and Collection of the
Data.
The test and accompanying letter were distributed to the students
during a lecture, by the author or in some cases, the lecturer. The
tests were completed during the first 5 -10 minutes of the class
and returned to the author.
A copy of the test and accompanying letter can be found in
Appendix 3 and 4.
37
3.4 Organisation and Analysis of Data.
The test scores of the questionnaire were calculated by the
Computer department of the the Victoria University of
Technology, Footscray Campus, by entering the data into their
mainframe computer, using the program SPSS. Calculation of the
statistical data were carried out by the computer program.
3.5 Summary.
The following procedures were utilized to determine the attitudes
of students and graduates towards people with disabilities:
1. The investigator compiled a comprehensive list of first
year students and fourth year students of the Victoria
University of Technology, Footscray Campus;
2. The investigator applied an instrument designed to
determine these attitudes;
3. The data acquired through the application of the
survey were organised and analysed in a manner
appropriate for the, achievement of the study's purposes.
38
CHAPTER 4.
FINDINGS.
4.1 The Sample.
4.1.1 Introduction.
This section of the chapter will briefly describe the size of the
population, the sample size, the number of surveys returned,
received and excluded due to incorrect completion, either
through incompletion or invalid results.
4.1.2 Total Population.
As of July 1990, the Faculty of Business of the Victoria University
of Technology at the Footscray campus had the following
numbers of students enroled in the first and fourth year of the
following courses:
Table 2: "Bachelor of Business Courses at Footscray. 1990."
Bachelor of Business Courses 1st year 4th year
B.Bus. Catering & Hotel Management B.Bus. Tourism B.Bus. Information Technology B.Bus. Retail Management B.Bus. Banking and Finance B.Bus. Accounting B.Bus. International Trade
TOTAL:
116 46 56 61 38
110 53
480
63 27 33 18 26 36
_^_
203
Source: Faculty of Business Office, V.U.T., Footscray Campus.
39
The student numbers shown on Table 2 lists full-time students
only. Currently there are no fourth year International Trade
students as the course is in its first year of existence. A number
of the final year Information Technology students are in fact only
third year students due to a course structure change, and they
have therefore not yet completed their industrial year. For the
reasons stated above, these students have not been included in
the sample.
4.1.3 Sample Taken.
The response rate was determined by the number of responses
gained from the business student population.
Table 3: "Respondent Numbers: Completed Valid Surveys."
Bachelor of Business Courses 1st year 4th year
B.Bus. B.Bus. B.Bus. B.Bus. B.Bus. B.Bus. B.Bus.
Catering & Hotel Management Tourism Information Technology Retail Management Banking and Finance Accounting International Trade
TOTAL:
67 28 21 35 20 54 11 242
46 11
4 2
21 23
107
40
As a percentage of the total population, the response rate
represents:
Bachelor of Business Courses
B.Bus. B.Bus. B.Bus. B.Bus. B.Bus. B.Bus. B.Bus.
Catering & Hotel Management Tourism Information Technology Retail Management Banking and Finance Accounting International Trade
TOTAL:
1st year
57.8% 60.9% 37.5% 57.4%
2.6% 49.1% 32.1% 50.4%
4th year
73.0% 40.7% 12.1% 11.1% 80.8% 63.9%
-
52.7%
As can be seen in Table 4, both the totals of first year and fourth
year exceed 50%. Four of the seven (57.1%) first year groups
comprised a return larger than 50%, with the remaining three
groups comprising between 32.1% and 49.1% of the total first
year population.
The fourth year group had three of the six (50.0%) courses above
the 60% mark, with the remaining three groups between 11.1%
and 40.7% of the total fourth year population.
From the surveys returned, only seven (7) were invalid, due to
incompletion, invalid course or year of study.
Surveying was conducted over a three week period during
August/September 1990, from Monday to Friday, during
morning, afternoon and night classes.
41
4.1.4 Limitations to the Sample.
Limitations to the sample were:
Inability to capture all business students as many are in
small classes;
Because of the late time in the semester, many students
were not attending classes, so did not have the opportunity to
complete the survey; and;
There are always a number of students away from class for
different reasons, for example, illness.
4.2 Interpretation of the Data.
The data are summarised as follows:
• Catering and Hotel Management (Hospitality)
and the Tourism degree courses are combined into one group.
• The second group consists of all the other (five)
courses combined.
Table 5: "Number of
Catering and Hospitality
Other Courses
Responses
and Tourism
from
First
95 147
Groups Year
It
Fourth
57
50
Year Total
152 197
Total: 242 107
42
The two reasons why the remaining five courses were combined
into one group were:
a) some of the groups were only small representatives of those
groups (for example, fourth year Information Technology and
Retail Management), and,
b) a comparative group of students was needed to evaluate the
scores of the hospitality and tourism students.
The dependent variable of the research is the mean attitude
score, and the independent variables are: Course, ("Hospitality
and Tourism" or "Other"), Year, ("First" or "Fourth"), Industry
Experience, ("Less than 1 Year", "Between One and Two Years", or
"More than 2 years"). Age, ("18 or Less", "19", "20", "21", "22",
or "23 or More"), Gender, ("Female" or "Male"), and Exposure to
Disabled People, ("Never", "Some", or "Frequent").
The following analyses were conducted:
• The relationship of course and year to mean attitude
scores;
The relationship of course and industrial experience to
mean attitude scores;
The relationship of course and age to mean attitude scores;
The relationship of course and gender to mean attitude
scores;
The relationship of course and exposure to disabled people
to mean attitude scores;
The relationship of course, gender and exposure to disabled
people to mean attitude scores; and,
• Mean attitude score differences between different studies.
43
4.3 The Relationship of Course and Year to Mean Attitude
Scores.
From Table 6, it appears that Hospitality and Tourism students
scored higher on mean attitude to disability scores overall. There
is also a general linear trend toward higher scores in the 4th year
for both courses as illustrated in Figure 1.
Table 6: "Mean score of V.U.T. Business Students."
Business Group 1st year 4th year
Cat.& Hotel Mgmt and Tourism Other Business Courses
68.00 66.85
70.44 68.42
Figure 1: "Course and Year on Mean Attitude Scores."
First Year Fourth Year Year of Course
44
A 2 (course) x 2 (year) analysis of variance (ANOVA) was
performed on the subject's mean attitude to disability scores. The
ANOVA indicated a non-significant main effect of Course
(F=1.067, df=l/349, p<.302) and a non-significant main effect
for the Year (F=1.820, df=l/349, p<.178). The interaction effect
of the Course x Year was also non-significant (F=0.090, df= 1/349,
p<0.764).
4.4 The Relationship of Course and Industrial Experience to Mean
Attitude Scores.
From Table 7 below, it appears that Hospitality and Tourism
students initially scored a higher mean attitude to disability score
than the other students. With increasing industrial experience,
the other students increased their mean attitude score
dramatically. This is shown on Figure 2.
Table 7: Mean Score based on Industrial Experience.
Business Group/Industry Experience 1st year 4th year
Hospitality and Tourism Less than 1 year 1 -2 years More than 2 years
Other Business Courses Less than 1 year 1 -2 years More than 2 years
69.38 65.07 65.90
65.44 65.31 73.50
77.50 68.85 70.94
66.37 67.50 72.00
45
Figure 2: "Course and Indn.strial Experience to Mean Attitude
< One Year One-Two Years Industry Experience
>Two Years
The ANOVA is a 2 (Course) x 3 (Industry Experience). The ANOVA
indicated a non-significant main effect of Course (F=0.666,
df=l/349, p< 0.415) but a significant main effect for the Industry
Experience (F=3.094, df 2/349, p<0.047).
The interaction effect of Course by Industry Experience (F=3.058,
df= 3/349, p<0.048) indicates that the main effect of Industry
Experience on Mean Attitude Scores is dependent on the Course.
In other words, only in the case of "Other" courses is industry
experience a significant variable with respect to attitude.
46
4-5 The Relationship of Course and Age to Mean Attitude Scores.
From Table 8, it appears that Hospitality and Tourism students
scored higher on mean attitude to disability scores than the other
students. This is graphically illustrated on Figure 3.
Table 8: Mean Score Based on Age.
Business Group/Age 1st year 4th year
Hospitality and Tourism Less than/equal to 18 69.04 19 years 68.27 20 years 67.15 21 years 64.80 22 years 58.00 More than 22 years 70.31
Other Business Courses Less than/equal to 18 67.04 19 years 67.21 20 years 61.30 21 years 72.44 22 years 64.00 More than 22 years 67.75
0 0
58.00 71.53 68.95 71.88
0 0
71.83 65.77 67.00 70.22
Figure 3: "Course and Age on Mean Attitude Scores." ItL -
yn -/u
ore
0
(J DO -
6 4 -
:
,
:
/ i
-Q- iiosp.j -•- ^ther
' — — .
/
tToui ^ours
'
Ism ss
17 18 19 20 21 Age
22 23 24
47
A 2 (course) x 6 (age) ANOVA was performed on the subject's
mean attitude to disability scores. The ANOVA indicated a non
significant main effect of Course (F=l.231, df=l/350, p<0.268)
and a non-significant main effect for Age (F=1.061, df=5/350,
p<0.382). The interaction effect of Course x Age was also non
significant (F=0.627, df=l 1/350, p<0.805).
4.6 The Relationship of Course and Gender Mean Attitude Scores.
From Table 9, it again appears that Hospitality and Tourism
students scored higher on mean attitude to disability scores,
especially the fourth year group, than the other students. From
Figure 2 it can be clearly demonstrated that females have higher
scores than males, irrespective of course.
Table 9: "Mean Score Based on Gender."
Business Group/Gender
Hospitality and Tourism Male Female
Other Business Courses Male Female
1st year
63.29 69.89
64.09 69.65
4th year
68.74 71.66
67.63 70.92
48
Figure 4: "Course and Gender on Mean Attitude Scnres " 71
Female Male
Sex
A 2 (course) x 2 (Gender) ANOVA was performed on the subject's
mean attitude to disability scores. The ANOVA indicated a non
significant main effect of Course (F=0.114, df=l/342, p<0.735)
but a significant main effect for the Gender (F=l 1.568, df=l/342,
p<0.001). The interaction effect of Course x Gender however was
non-significant (F=0.029, df=3/342, p<0.865). This suggests that
gender is a significant variable affecting attitude regardless of
course of study.
4.7 The Relationship of Course and Exposure to People with
Disabilities on Mean Attitude Scores.
From Table 10, it appears again, that Hospitality and Tourism
students have rated a higher attitude to disability score than the
other students overall. This is clearly illustrated on Figure 5.
49
Table 10: "Mean Scores Based on Exposure to People with Disabilities."
Business Group/Exposure 1st year 4th year
Hospitality and Tourism No exposure Some exposure Frequent exposure
Other Business Courses No exposure Some exposure Frequent exposure
62.90 69.59 69.64
64.43 68.92 61.78
71.33 70.90 66.33
63.64 69.55 74.80
Figure 5: "Course and Exposure to Disabled People on Mean Attitude Scores."
72
Never Sometimes Frequent Exposure to people with Disabilities
A 2 (Course) x 3 (Exposure to Disabled People) ANOVA was
performed on the subject's mean attitude to disability scores. The
ANOVA indicated a non-significant main effect on Course
(F=0.409, df= 1/347, p<0.523) but a significant main effect on
Exposure to Disabled People (F=5.417, df=2/347, p<0.005).
50
The interaction effect of Course and Exposure to Disabled People
was again, not significant (F=2.509, df=5/347, p<0.906).
Therefore, exposure to disabled people, especially in moderate
(rather than frequent) amounts, tends to result in significantly
more positive attitudes.
4.8 The Relationship between Course. Gender and Exposure to
People with Disabilities on Mean Attitude Score.
A 2 (course) x 2 (gender) x 3 (exposure) ANOVA was performed
on the subject's mean attitude to disability scores. The ANOVA
indicated a non-significant main effect of Course (F=0.024,
df= 1/339, p<0.876) but significant main effects on Gender
(F=9.378, df=l/339, p<0.002) and Exposure (F=5.332, df=2/339,
p<0.005).
The two way interaction effect of Course and Gender, and Course
and Exposure were non-significant as discovered earlier, however,
the two way interaction effect of Gender and Exposure was
significant (F=4.190, df=2/339, p<0.016). This interaction
indicates that the main effect of Gender and Exposure on mean
attitude scores is dependent. Figure 6 graphically explains this
effect.
51
Figure 6: "Course. Gender and Exposure to Disabled People on Mean Attitude Scores."
Never Sometimes Exposure to People with Disabilities
Frequent
4.9 Mean Attitude Score differences of Footscray C a m p u s
Business Students and Other University Students.
At this stage, the chapter has only looked at results of students
attending the University of Technology, Footscray Campus. A look
at other studies of the ATDP scale. Form O reveals that the V.U.T.
students are well below the mean scores of most other studies.
Results are only available in the form of male or female and as a
total group. Dividing this study into the two sexes, the results for
V.U.T. Business students are as follows: Female:
Males:
Mean Score Sample Size Mean Score Sample Size
70.2 184 65.35 159
Table 11 shows some of the past results of the ATDP, Form 0 test.
52
Table 11: "Mean Scores of Past Research. ATDP. Form O "
Study Group Meehan, 1980 Sixth Graders Ruys, E,.1991 U n d e r g r a d u a t e s Smith, M..1978 Under/Graduates
Undergraduates Undergraduates Various Rehab. Admin. Highschool School Teachers Dis. workers Dis. workers Nursing students Undergraduates Teachers
Alessandrini, '82 Undergraduates Fichten, H.A. '86 Montreal Adults Fonosch, 1979 Higher Ed. Faculty Felton, 1975 Child Care Trainees Kelly, 1982 Coord. Dis. Students DilUon, 1977 Teachers
Females No. Mean
Males No. Mean
Smits, C , 1971 Bishop, 1969 Yuker, B.Y.'66 Ashburn, 1973 Chesler, 1963 Foley, 1978 Yuker. B.Y.'66 Block, 1962 Rosswurm, '80 Urie, S., 1971 Conine, 1968
7 5 1 8 4 2 2 4
7 9 2 5
4 1 0 2 7
177 114 2 1 9
2 6 140 3 7 4 2 3 0
3 8 5 6
7 2 1 6 2 0 4
6 2 . 8 7 0 . 2 7 1 . 3 7 2 . 6 7 4 . 0 7 5 . 4 7 6 . 5 7 8 . 4 7 8 . 9 7 8 . 9
7 9 . 6 7 9 . 6 8 0 . 0 8 0 . 3 8 2 . 7 8 9 . 2 9 3 . 0 9 8 . 0 9 8 . 9
55 1 5 9 161 137
2 5 1689
121 108
83 1079
8 1
116 9 9
2 0 2 2 0
2 6 8
113 3 2
6 2 . 6 6 5 . 3 7 0 . 5 7 0 . 9 7 1 . 6 7 2 . 8 8 3 . 8 7 3 . 9 7 6 . 1 7 8 . 5 7 8 . 8
7 3 . 7 7 5 . 1 7 3 . 5 7 6 . 4 81 .7
9 3 . 9 9 5 . 4
Source: YUKER, Harold., BLOCK, J.R., "Research with the Attitudes Towards Disabled Persons Scale (ATDP) 1960-1985" Hofstra University.
For the study on the Victoria University of Technology business
students, the mean score overall was 67.97 with a sample size of
349 cases. Table 12 shows the average scores of a number of
studies carried put previously, using the ATDP scale. Form O.
Table 12: "Mean Overall Attitude Scores for Previous Studies."
Study
Evans, 1974 Evans, 1974 Cordaro, 1969 Modisette, '87 Lipsky, 1978 Ruys, E., 1991 LeCompte, '66 Bell, S. 1971
Group
Adolescent offenders Highschool Disabled Adults 3-7 grade students Elementary students U n d e r g r a d u a t e s Undergraduates Hospitalised Disabled
No.
20 20 50 60 95
3 4 9 553
25
Mean.
52.0 58.4 60.0 61.0 62.8 6 8 . 0 66.3 72.0
53
(Table 12 Continued^ Furnham, P. 1983 British Wolraich, 1980 Wolraich, 1980 Stiff, P. 1964 Conine, 1968 Conine, 1968 Clark, 1978 Bell, S. 1971 Conine, 1968 Lenhart, 1976 Cortez, 1983 McDaniel, 1980 Clark, 1978 Lenhart, 1976 Fonosch, 1979 Pensabene, B.'73 Ripley, 1985 Conine, 1968 Lenhart, 1976 Avery, 1982 Rosswurm, 1980 Ashburn, 1973 Wilson, 1983 Marsh, 1983 Fonosch, 1979 Conine, 1968 Yuker, H. 1986 Fonosch, 1979 Ashburn, 1973 Bell, S. 1971 LeCompte. L. '66
96 Pediatricians 5 7 Pediatrician Students 2 2 Dental Students 8 3 No contact; disabled 6 1 Fam members of disabled 9 9 Highschool Principals 6 1 Disabled at Rehab. Cntr 4 5 Elementary teachers 434 Adults 9 0 Faculty Members 2 0 Vocational Teachers 28 8 Highschool P.E.Teachers 218 Rehab. Professionals 4 5 Faculty without contact 154 Disabled at Rehab. Cntr 2 4 College athletes 2 5 Friends Disabled Person 8 5 Disabled Persons 6 0 Undergraduates 3 2 Nursing students 5 7 Non-disabled person 123 Undergraduates 298 Teachers 23 8 Higher Educ. Faculty 3 24 Elem. Spec.Ed. Teachers 3 0 Adults 5 0 Faculty with Contact 160 Disabled Rehab. Admin. 2 5 Non-hospilised disabled 4 5 Turkish undergraduates 212
72.1 73.6 75.3 75.6 76.4 77.1 77.6 78.0 78.6 78.9 79.0 79.4 79.7 79.8 79.8 81.0 81.2 81.3 81.4 81.5 81.8 81.9 82.0 82.1 83.0 83.1 83.3 85.3 85.5 86.0 90.4
4.10 Summary of Findings.
From the chapter, it can be concluded that attitude scores
generally do not differ significantly between the business student
groups studied, of the Victoria University of Technology,
Footscray Campus. Significant differences were found by
54
performing ANOVA between course and industry experience,
gender and exposure to disabled people only. Specifically,
industry experience was significant for those in "other" courses
at V.U.T., though non-significant for tourism and hospitality
students. Those with more industry experience scored higher
than the students with no industry experience. Gender was
significant, with females scoring higher, irrespective of the
course undertaken. Those with a moderate ("sometimes")
exposure to people with disabilities scored higher.
A significant difference was also found between V.U.T. students
and students from different universities, primarily the U.S.A.
V.U.T. students scored significantly lower than nearly all other
populations with the exception of children of school age. Further
research would be needed to ascertain the reasons for this find
and to answer questions such as: "Are Australians poorly
educated regarding disabilities? Or, are business students less
enlightened than other groups?"
These findings are of some concern in that they show that V.U.T.
students being educated for the hospitality and tourism industry
have a lower than average attitude to disabilities score than other
students. This is disturbing in that it affects the future of these
students. If they have reservations, conscious or unconscious, in
dealing with people with disabilities, it will affect their ability to
deal with people with disabilities, as tourist or guests. These
future service orientated workers either do not fully understand
or else want to understand the needs of people with disabilities.
This research has shown that business students, studying service-
55
oriented courses do not in fact show a higher attitude score
towards people with disabilities than other students studying non
service oriented courses. The ability to deal and communicate
with people can be regarded as being of the utmost importance
for service oriented students.Such students should not have
reservations about certain people, in this case, people with
disabilities.
Changing attitudes is a very slow and difficult process to
undertake. It is difficult to do this within the curriculum of a
University where subjects are typically one semester or 14 weeks
in duration. Education at the workplace has advantages in that
time spent in industry is longer in duration. Furthermore,
workers may have a better understanding of the need for such
training within industry since they have gained hands-on
experience. (The results of the attitude test has shown that as
industry experience increases, so does the attitude score of the
students.) Any training in attitudes towards people with
disabilities is therefore better understood and worthwhile in the
workplace. Awareness can be created within the tertiary
education section but, more training is needed at the workplace.
At the same time we must acknowledge the disadvantage that
staff turnover in hospitality and tourism organisations is
relatively high compared to other industries, and that the cost of
staff training is often considered high for management.
Some reasons for the better attitudes of the US studies could be
explained by the earlier adoption of the required standards for
people with disabilities as compared with Australia.
56
This study has opened up many avenues for further
consideration. Are industry's as well as disabled people's needs
met? An investigation into the disabled tourist population would
be required. Recent articles have shown that marketers seem to
assume that if 10% of the population has some sort of disability,
that therefore 10% of the travellers also have some sort of
disability. The author has great difficulty in making this
assumption. It could be assumed that if disabled tourists knew
that students were taught an awareness subject at University,
they would be more willing to travel. If the percentage of disabled
tourists is found to be high, it is a good reason to include
awareness subjects in the course, suplemented by appropriate
industry training. If the percentage of disabled tourists is found
to be low, this could be related to poor education of the students
and therefore disabled tourists are not encouraged to travel.
57
CHAPTER 5.
SUMMARY. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
5.1 Summary.
This study has specifically looked at the attitudes of first year and
final year business students of the Victoria University of
Technology, Footscray Campus towards people with disabilities.
The business students were divided into two groups. The first
group consisted of Hospitality and Tourism Management
students. The second group was comprised of the remaining five
business degree courses.
The aim of the study was to see whether the first group differed
from the second group, and whether there was a difference in
attitude towards people with disabilities for first year as
compared to final year students.
The ATDP, Form O test which was used to calculate an attitude
score, was developed by Professor Harold Yuker, and consists of a
twenty statement, Likert-type 6-answer scale.
58
5.2 Conclusions.
From the research carried out during this study, it can be
concluded that:
• There is no statistically significant difference between the
attitudes of first year and fourth year hospitality and
tourism students.
• Female students have a significantly higher and therefore
better attitude score than male students.
• Exposure to disabled people and industry experience
show significance, however, like the other demographic
variables, there are numerous other intervening variables
that interfere with the results, and therefore, limited
conclusions can be made.
• Group 1 (Catering & Hotel Management and Tourism
Management students) have a slightly better attitude
score than students enrolled on the other business
courses, but the difference is not statistically significant.
• V.U.T. students have a comparatively low attitude score
compared with other researchers' results.
The implications of the conclusions noted above are important
for the education system as a whole, notably, for University
education, for business education, for the various courses at
V.U.T., and for hospitality and tourism courses in general.
59
5.3 Recommendations.
Using this study as a basis for further research, it is
recommended that:
• A longitudinal study be carried out with the first year
students for a more valid account of difference between
first and final year students.
• Research be undertaken to ascertain the impact of the
Disability component of the now compulsory "Hospitality
Facilities Planning and Design" subject for Catering and
Hotel students by measuring their attitudes before
commencement and again after completion of the
course.
• Research should be undertaken to determine the possible
reasons for the lower than average ATDP scores of V.U.T.
Business students, for example, compare to other
courses at V.U.T., other business courses in Australia, or
other hospitality/tourism students in Australia.
• This study be expanded by calculating the ATDP scale
scores of Hospitality and Tourism staff already in
industry.
• Further testing and research be carried out to determine
the reasons for the differing attitude scores between the
three variables; gender, exposure and industry
experience.
60
6. REFERENCES.
1. ENGEL, James et al. Consumer Behaviour 5th Edition. CBS Publication, 1986, pg. 464.
2- LILLEY, Peter. "Communication is the Key." Tourism for AH article. English Tnnrist Roarr^, Chairman: Mary Baker.
3. MURRAY, M. SPROATS, J., "The Disabled Traveller; Tourism and Disability in Australia." Journal of Tourism StyHips," V I , No 1 May 990. Pg 11.
^- WARREN, Robert et al., "A Review of Attitudes and Disability." The Australian .Toumal of Special Education, V.9, No. 2 Nov. 1985 Pgs. 28-31
5- WRIGHT, Beatrice., "Developing Constructive Views of Life with a Disability." Rehabilitation Literature. V.41, No,ll/12 1980 Pgs 274-279.
6. ENGEL, James et al. Consumer Behaviour. 5th Edition. CBS Publication, 1986, pg. 464.
7. LAZARUS, Bruce and KAUFMAN, L "Handicapped Guests and the Hospitality Curriculum." The Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Ouarterlv. V.29. No.2 1988. Pgs.69-70.
8. I b i d .
9. Bachelor of Business. Tourism Management Re-accreditation Proposal. Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, F.LT., May 1988.
10. Bachelor of Business. Catering and Hotel Management Re-accreditation Proposal. Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, F.I.T., June 1988.
11. ROBBINS, Stephen. Organisational Behaviour. Prentice Hall Inc. Englewood Cliffs. 1989. Pg. 121.
12. A.B.S. . Handicapped Persons. Australia. 1981. Pg. 173.
13 . A.B.S. . Handicapped Persons. Australia. 1981. Pg. 173.
14. A.B.S . . Handicapped Persons. Australia. 1981. Pg. 174.
15 . FRYE, Virginia and PETERS, Martha. Therapeuric Recreation: Its Theory. Philosophy and Practice. Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1972, Pg.50.
16. BRODSKY-PORGES, Edward, "Making Hospitality Operations Hospitable; The First Step in Accessibility for the Handicapped."The Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Ouangrly, V.20, No.2 1979. Pgs 8-9.
61
17. ROBBINS, Stephen. Organisational Behavini^r Prentice Hall Inc Englewood Cliffs. 1989, Pg. 121.
1 8. SMITH, Ronald et al. Psvcholoyv: The Frontiers of Rehavinnr 3rd Ed. Harper and Row Publ. N.Y. 1986. Pg. 598.
19. ATKINSON, Rita and ATKINSON, Richard et al. An Introduction to Psvchologv. 9th Ed. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publ. 1984. Pg. 580 .
20. SMITH, R., Pg. 600.
2 1 . Pg. 601
22. Pg. 600
23 . Pg. 609
24. LIVNEH, Hanoch., "On The Origins of Negative Attitudes Towards People with Disabilities." Rehabilitation Literature. V.43, No. 11/12 1982. Pgs. 338-347.
25. GETHING, Lindsay., "An Investigation of Attitudes Towards Disabled Persons in Australia." Australian Rehabilitation Review. V.6, No.4 1982. Pgs. 46-50.
26. JACKSON, M. and KNOWLES, B. "Primary School Children's Perceptions and Understandings of Mental Retardation." Paper presented at A.G.S.O.M.D. Conference, Launceston, 1980.
27. NICHOLL, Neil, "Teaching about Disabilities: Does it change Attitudes Towards Disabled People?" The Special Education Journal. V.l 1988. Pgs 4-8.
28. DONALDSON, J. "Changing Attitudes Towards Disabled Persons: A Review and Analysis of Research." Exceptional Children. V.46, No.7 1980. Pgs. 504-514.
29. KENT, J., CARTWRIGHT, D. and OSSORIO, P., "Attitudes of Peer Groups Towards Paraplegic Individuals." Journal of Rehahilitation. V.50, No.3 1984. Pgs. 41-45.
30. AUVENSHIRE, CD., "The Development of a Scale for Measuring Atritudes Toward Severely Disabled College Students." Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Missouri, U.S.A. 1962.
3 1 . WHITEMAN, M. and LUKOFF, LF., "Attitudes Towards Blindness in Two College Groups." .Tonmal of SoHal Psvchologv. V.63 1964. Pgs. 179-191.
3 2. BARRELL, R.P., DeWOLFE, A.S. and CUMMINGS, J.W. "A Measure of Staff Attitudes Toward Care of Physically 111 Patients." Journal of Consulting Psvchologv. V.29 1965. Pgs. 218-222.
62
3 3 SILLER, J., FERGUSON, L., VANN, D., and HOLLAND, B. "Studies in Reactions to Disability: XII Structure of Attitudes Towards the Physically Disabled." N.Y.U. School of Education. 1967.
3 4 . MAKAS, E.. FINNERTY-FRIED, P. et al. "The Issues in Disability Scale; A New Cognitive Affective Measure of Attitudes Toward People With Physical Disabilities." Journal of ApplJpH Rehabilitadon Counseling V.19, No.l Spring 1988. Pgs. 21-29.
3 5 . COONEY. Margaret and MULLEN, T.P., Student Attitudes Towards Disabled Persons. A Study of the California State University. U.S.A., 1 9 8 5 .
36 . PERRY, David. APOSTAL. R. and SCOTT. T., "Retrospective Measures in the Modification of Attitudes Towards Persons with Disabilities." Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling. V.19. No.3 Fall 1988. Pgs. 24-27.
3 7 . WESTBROOK. Mary, ADAMSON, B., and WESTBROOK, J. "Health Science Students' Images of Disabled People." Communitv Health Studies. V.12. No.3 1988. Pgs. 304-313.
3 8 . RODEN, Janet, "Developing Positive Attitudes Towards People with a Developmental Disability in College Nursing Students." Australia Disability Review. V.l, No.l 1989. Pgs. 20-25.
3 9 . HAZZARDS, Ann. "Children's Experience with Knowledge of and Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons." The Journal of Special Education. V.17, No.2 1983. Pgs 131-139.
4 0 . FISH, Dale and SMITH. S.M. "Disability: A Variable in Counsellor Effectiveness and Attitudes Towards Disabled Persons." Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin. V.27, No.2. Nov. 1983. Pgs 120-1 2 3 .
4 1 . YUKER. H.E.. BLOCK, J.R. and YOUNNG, J.H., "The Measurement of the ATDP." Rehahilitation Series. No.3. Human Resource Centre, Alberton, N.Y. 1970.
4 2 . ELSTON. R. and SNOW. B. "Attitudes Towards People with Disabilities as Expressed by Rehabilitadon Professionals." Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin. V.29. No.4, June 1986. Pgs. 284-2 8 6 .
4 3 . YUKER, Harold E., BLOCK, Ti? , Pp.;par^h with the Attitudes Towards Disabled Persons Scales. (ATDPV 1960-1985. Hofstra University, U.S.A.
4 4 .
4 5 .
4 6
Ibid. Pg.
Ibid. Pg.
Ibid. Pg.
12
14
14
63
4 7 . Ibid. Pg. 14
4 8 . STODDEN, Robert et al. The Relationship Between the ATDP and ATHI Scales for Assessing Attitudes. Paper - California State University, Long Beach, U.S.A. 1973.
4 9 . HAFER, Marilyn, WRIGHT, W.R. and GODLEY, S.. "Dimensionality of the STDP Scale Revised." Educational and Psvchological Measurement. V.43, No.2 Summer 1983, Pgs. 459-463.
50. VARGO, James and SEMPLE. J. "Honest Versus Fake Scores on the ATDP-A." Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin. V.27, No.2 Nov 1983. Pgs. 120-123.
5 1. HAGLER, P., VARGO. J. and SEMPLE, J., "The Potential for Faking the ATDP Scale." Rehabilitadon Counseling Bulletin. V.31. No.l Sept. 1987. Pgs. 72-76.
5 2 . SPEAKMAN. Haddon and HOFFMAN. Christine. "The Fakeability of the ATDP-Scale: Form B." Phvsical Therapv. V.59. No.7 July 1979. Pgs 866-868.
5 3 . YUKER, H.E., "ATDP Scale: Susceptibility to Faking." Rehabilitarion Bulletin. V.29, No.3 March 1986. Pgs. 200-204.
General Reference:
YUKER, H.E. (Ed.) Attitudes Towards Persons With Disabilities. Springer Publishing Co.Inc. N.Y. 1988.
64
APPENDIX 1. ATDP Scale. Form "O"
Mark each statement in the left margin according to how much you agree or disagree with it. Please mark every one. Write +1, +2, -i-3; or -1,-2,-3; depending on how you feel in each case.
+3 -f-2 - F l
I AGREE VERY MUCH I AGREE PRETTY MUCH lAGREEALriTLE
-1 -2 -3
I DISAGREE A LITTLE I DISAGREE PRETIY MUCH I DISAGREE VERY MUCH
_ 1 . Parents of disabled children should be less strict than other parents.
_2. Physically disabled persons are just as intelligent as nondisabled ones.
_ 3 . Disabled people are usually easier to get along with than other people.
_4. Most disabled people feel sorry for themselves. _5 . Disabled people are the same as anyone else. _6. There should not be special schools for disabled children. _7. It would be best for disabled persons to live and work in
special communities. _8 . It is up to the government to take care of disabled persons. _9. Most disabled people worry a great deal. _10. Disabled people should not be expected to meet the same
standards as nondisabled people. _11. Disabled people areas happy as nondisabled ones. _12. Severely disabled people are no harder to get along with than
those with minor disabilities. _13. It is almost impossible for a disabled person to lead a normal life. _14. You should not expect too much from disabled people. _15. Disabled people tend to keep to themselves much of the time. _16. Disabled people are more easily upset than nondisabled people. _17. Disabled persons cannot have a normal social life. .18. Most disabled people feel that they are not as good
as other people. .19. You have to be careful of what you say when you are with
disabled people. .20. Disabled people are often grouchy.
APPENDIX 2.
22nd August, 1990. Victoria University of Technology, FIT Campus. Hospitality & Tourism Department. P.O.Box 64. Footscray. Victoria, 3011. Aust.
Prof. Harold E. Yuker. Center for the Study of ATDP. Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY.,U.S.A.
Re: Permission to use the ATDP scale.
Dear Professor Yuker.
I am currently completing a Masters degree in Business, (Tourism Development), at the Victoria University of Technology, FIT Campus, in Melbourne, Australia.
As part of the requirements of the course. I have to write a minor thesis. I have chosen to measure the attitudes of first year students, final year students and graduates of the Hospitality and Tourism courses offered here, towards people with disabilities. I would like to determine whether results differ between the groups, and if so, why.
After researching the material available. I have found that the scales developed by yourself and Dr. J.R. Block are by far the most accepted, reliable and valid tests available.
I would like to use one of the ATDP scales for my thesis and would appreciate your permission to use the scales. Please forward a reply via fax on (Melbourne- (3)) 318-5232.
Thanking you in advance.
yours sincerely.
Ms. Eva Ruijs. c/- The Student Village
Maribymong, Victoria. 3032. Australia.
66
J V / A ^ O X f \ / Y "« » VMt> Hm yo«„ „tv. Jtjtt:A
NIVERSITY M^ J/rr t)//>6r PrenWfn/
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303a
Dear Ms , Ru 1,1 s
^ou hftve my p o r m i » » l o n to oao the ATDP ncalaa for your Mastara Theala r e o o a r c n . It would t>«t i5> p r e d a t e d if you would sand mo copy of your ros«A»*ch <\<<itiign And r A ^ u l t a . onc« it ia complatad.
no you haVft « copy of our 1986 m o n o g r a p h Raaaarch with the i.lJl.J_L'JI- fq T o w a r d Dlaabla.i Pqy^ppa qcalea. 1 9 6 0 - 1 9 6 5 . It not, I will aand you a copy upon rBOolpt: at a check for $1 2 . OO (U.S.) payable to H o f s t r a U n i v e r s i t y .
If I can be r a 3 o a r c t\ .
of help, feel frtie to contact mo. Oood luck in your
SincoroIy,
/- Pt. \ oJU.T. Horold B. y u k o r , Ph. D Psychology Dept, Kofatra U n l v a r a l t y . Hampatoad, H.Y. 11S50
APPENDIX 3.
Dear F.I.T. Business Student
The attached survey is has been designed to test the attitudes of people towards people with disabilities, and has been used extensively throughout the world for this purpose.
As a Master of Business (Tourism & Development) student, I am currently writing my minor thesis on the attitudes of students towards people with disabilities. The attitudes of First Year Business Students will be compared with Fourth Year Business Students to establish whether the attitudes of students change over the duration of their course.
The survey, which is attached overleaf, should only take about five to ten minutes to complete, the results of which will remain confidential. I would be extremely grateful if you can find the time to carefully complete it.
Yours sincerely.
Eva Ruijs, Post Graduate Student.
68
APPENDIX 4.
PART A.
1. Course:
Attitudes Towards People with Disabilities Survey-Background Information.
Please circle the appropriate number.
2. Year:
B.Bus Catering & Hotel Mgmt. B.Bus Tourism B.Bus Info Technology B.Bus Retail Management B.Bus Banking & Finance B.Bus Accounting B.Bus International Trade
First Fovirth
3. Industry Experience: Less than 1 year 1-2 years More than 2 years
1. 1 3. 4 5. 6. 7.
1. Z
1. 2 3.
4.. Age: 18 or less 19 20 21 22 23 or more
Female Male
1. 2 3. 4 5. 6.
1. 2
5. Sex:
6. Exposure to Disabled People: Never 1. Some 2 Frequent 3.
PARTB. Attitude Towards Disabled Person's Scale, - Form O.
Mark each statement in the left margin according to how much you agree or disagree with it. Please mark every one. Write +1, +2, +3; or -1, -2, -3; depending how you feel in each case.
+3 I AGREE VERY MUCH +2 I AGREE PRETTY MUCH +1 I AGREE A LITTLE
-1 I DISAGREE A LITTLE -2 I DISAGREE PRETTY MUCH -3 I DISAGREE VERY MUCH
For Example, if the statement read: "Disabled persons are usually friendly."
If you strongly agreed to this, you would circle +3. If you disagreed a little, you would circle -1.
Parents of disabled children should be less strict than other parents. Physically disabled persons are just as intelligent as non-disabled ones. Disabled people are usually easier to get along with than other people. Most disabled people feel sorry for themselves. Disabled people are the same as anyone else. There should not be special schools for disabled children. It would be best for disabled persons to live and work in special communities. It is up to the government to take care of disabled persons. Most disabled persons worry a great deal. Disabled people should not be expected to meet the same standards as non-disabled people. Disabled people are as happy as nondisabled people. Severely disabled people are no harder to get get along with than those with minor disabilities. It is ahnost impossible for a disabled person to lead a normal Ufe. You should not expect too much from disabled people. Disabled people tend to keep to themselves much of the time. Disabled people are more easily upset than non-disabled people. Disabled persons cannot have a normal social life. Most disabled people feel that they are not as good as other people. You have to be careful of what you say when you are with disabled people. Disabled people are often grouchy.
•3 •3 •3 •3 •3 -3 •3 -3 -3 -3
•3 •3
-3 •3 -3 -3 •3 •3 •3 -3
-2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2
-2 -2
-2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2
-1 +1 +2 +3 -1 +1 +2 +3 -1 +1 +2 +3 -1 +1 +2 +3 -1 +1 +2 +3 -1 +1 +2 +3 -1 +1 +2 +3 -1 +1 +2 +3 -1 +1 +2 +3 -1 +1 +2 +3
-1 +1 +2 +3 -1 +1 +2 +3
-1 +1 +2 +3 -1 +1 +2 +3 -1 +1 +2 +3 -1 +1 +2 +3 -1 +1 +2 +3 -1 +1 +2 +3 -1 +1 +2 +3 -1 +1 +2 +3
69